Phuket’s daily morning world news round-up – Wednesday 17th October

WORLDnews.com.au – Half of all wetlands destroyed since 1900
Half of the world’s wetlands have been destroyed since 1900 according to a new report.

THAILANDbangkokpost.com – Upsetting the rice bowl
Senators of the anti-government bloc will take the rice-buying plan back to the Constitution Court, claiming it is illegal without a vote of parliament.

nationmultimedia.com – Search turns up more evidence at police doctor’s ranch
In the presence of workers from Myanmar, police obtained key information during a search yesterday of the Phetchaburi ranch of a police doctor suspected of murdering a worker from the neighbouring country found buried on the property.

bangkokpost.com – Nurses rally to seek answers over delay to civil job status
About 1,000 professional nurses rallied outside Government House yesterday demanding an explanation for delays in the government’s promise to give them civil servant employment status that would offer them better work benefits.

bangkokpost.com – Industrial dirt seized in Chon Buri
A combined force of officials from several agencies on Tuesday seized a large quantity of industrial dirt illegally stored in a warehouse in Ban Bung district of Chon Buri province.

mcot.net – Thailand set to boost Halal food industry with Kuwait: PM
Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra reaffirmed close ties between Thailand and Kuwait and pledged that Thailand is ready to cooperate with the Middle Eastern country to produce Halal food for the world.

bangkokpost.com – Thais warned to reduce salt intake
Thai people should reduce their consumption of salty foods for their own good health, according to the public health deputy permanent secretary.

mcot.net – Bangkok ‘grows lungs’, expands green zones
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), the Thai capital’s city hall, has declared its success in creating green zones accessible to city residents during the past four years, according to a senior environment official.

ASIAbangkokpost.com – Thein Sein reappointed party head
Myanmar’s reformist President Thein Sein was reappointed Tuesday as head of the ruling party at a key meeting aimed at reviving its flagging political fortunes against a resurgent opposition.

bbc.co.uk – Chinese ‘view US less positively’
Chinese views on the US have plummeted in the last two years, a study finds, with an increasing number of Chinese people seeing relations as hostile.

bbc.co.uk – China to open bomb site to tours
China unveils a plan to open the site where it detonated its first atomic bomb to tourists, state-run Xinhua news agency reports.

bbc.co.uk – Cambodia set for week of mourning
The body of former King Norodom Sihanouk returns to Cambodia on Wednesday, marking the start of a week of mourning.

bbc.co.uk – ‘Fourteen-year-olds’ at Foxconn
Foxconn, Apple’s main supplier in China, admits it has employed interns as young as 14 years old.

UKbbc.co.uk – Charities voice benefits concerns
Up to 500,000 disabled people and their families could lose out under the government’s planned Universal Credit, a report for a number of charities says.

bbc.co.uk – Depression up ‘by half a million’
The number of people living with depression in England has increased by nearly half a million in three years, according to an analysis of NHS data.

bbc.co.uk – Man charged over Syria kidnapping
A 26-year-old Briton arrested at Heathrow on suspicion of terrorism offences is charged with the kidnap of a UK photographer in Syria, police say.

bbc.co.uk – UK human rights boycotts are inconsistent, say MPs
The UK government has been accused of inconsistency in its dealings with other countries over human rights.

bbc.co.uk – Queen honours stars for Diamond Jubilee celebrations
Celebrities who worked on the celebrations for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee year have attended a reception thanking them for their contribution.